Originally Posted by finch204

Hello all. I have some questions and need some ideas on adjustments/modifications I can make to my bike to get a more aggressive or forward leaning position on my hybrid bike.

I currently have a Trek Verve 3, which is obviously on the comfort end of hybrid bikes. It has a very upright riding position and suspension fork/seatpost which is great for when you just want to cruise around the neighborhood. I initially thought I needed a bike like this because I haven't ridden in a long time, have chronic neck/shoulder pain from bad posture and working a desk job, and I have a bad knee. I thought I wouldn't be able to ride a performance hybrid bike or worse a road bike. Well I was wrong. After a few months of riding the Trek Verve 3, I didn't really have any problems with my neck/shoulder or knee. However, I have found that the upright riding position is not ideal for doing fitness rides. It is hard to generate power when you're sitting upright as opposed to leaning forward, and it is hard to ride against the wind with such an upright riding position. Oh and I have long arms/shoulders too, which I believe just makes me sit more upright. I want to get a road bike, and I will, but not in a year or so.

In the meantime, I have been looking into making some adjustments on the Verve 3, again to try and get a more aggressive or forward leaning position.

- I have already pushed the seat back all the way to try and force my body to lean forward. My kneecap and pedal axle doesn't seem to be out of alignment so I think I am good here.

- The bike has an adjustable stem and as of now, I have it angled a little downward. It does help me lean forward and I want to lower it some more, but I'm worried that I might be compromising the bike's handling or my safety, due to it having a front suspension fork. It has a SR Suntour NEX fork with 50mm travel that does not have a lockout. How low do you think can I adjust it to?

- I thought of lowering the stem too or getting a longer stem, but I guess that depends on the answer to my question above.

- The Verve 4 has a front suspension fork with lockout, so if that one is not too expensive I might just get that as I don't want to deal with possible fitting problems with a rigid fork. Would that be a good idea?

- My handlebar is a riser bar with 50mm rise. I was thinking of maybe getting something with a lower rise like 5mm or 15mm, similar to the ones on the Trek FX bikes. Would that be a worthy modification?

My riding position right now is not as upright as when I bought the bike, but it still is too upright for my liking. I understand that I might be trying to fight against the bike's design/geometry but I just wanted to see how much adjustments I can make. As I said at the top, I will get a road bike, but not in a year or so. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!